Janet Weis Cabaret Jazz Series opens with Tuck and Patti

January 20, 2011

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LEWISBURG, Pa. — Bucknell University's Cabaret Jazz series will open the spring semester offerings with a performance by Tuck & Patti on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. in the Rooke Recital Hall of the Weis Music Building at Bucknell.

The performance, which is free and open to the public, is part of the ongoing Janet Weis Cabaret Jazz Series, which is made possible by funding from the Weis family. The recital hall is an intimate space, and seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

"Jazz guitarist Tuck Andress and singer Patti Cathcart have been performing together since 1981," said Bill Boswell, executive director of Bucknell's Weis Center for the Performing Arts and the curator of this series. "They perform both their own compositions, such as 'High Heel Blues,' and standards like 'One Hand, One Heart' from West Side Story and Stevie Wonder's 'I Wish.' Each concert ends with their signature closer, 'You Take My Breath Away.'

"Sadly, this will be the first concert in the series which is not attended by the great lady for whom the series was named," said Boswell. At 91 years of age, Janet Weis passed away soon after the first of the year. "She attended the performances through this past fall and the family is continuing the series this year as a tribute to her memory."

Andress, who was raised in Oklahoma, studied piano and guitar, and is primarily a self-taught artist who learned by playing with other musicians, listening to records, and experimenting. In Los Angeles, he found a session gig on his first day in town, and was later offered work on the popular Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. He majored in music at Stanford, studying classical guitar and playing with the Gap Band, Chaka Kahn, and Leon Russell.

Cathcart, who was born and raised in San Francisco, studied the violin for 11 years. She also sang in and directed choirs, but learned about phrasing and scatting by listening to Sammy Davis Jr. She studied opera in college, then began singing with rock 'n' rollers in her '20s, including Bob Weir's Kingfish band, Shaky Ground, and Occam's Razor.

The couple met in San Francisco in 1978 while auditioning for a Las Vegas-style show band and had an immediate connection, saying, "We each knew we'd found the perfect musical partner to explore with."

Their recordings include the top contemporary jazz albums Tears of Joy, Love Warriors, Reckless Precision and Paradise Found.

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